The invention relates to an application device equipped with a number of bristles for applying, to a surface such as the skin and its superficial growths, a product of liquid to pasty or pulverulent consistency, for example, a cosmetic or dermatological product. The invention also relates to an application system containing the product and equipped with such an application device.
The present invention can also relate generally to an application system having a reservoir containing the product and equipped with an open end to which a cap is removably attached. The cap acts as a handle, or element for grasping. The cap is secured to an application element, generally by way of a wand, so that when the assembly is closed, the application element remains immersed in the product.
The reservoir is, for example, intended to contain either a make-up product or dermatological product, for example, a mascara, a liquid lipstick, an eyeliner, a powder of the blusher type, nail varnish, or a hair treatment. A dose of this product is withdrawn using such an application device and is applied to the surface that is to be treated.
Many application devices of this type have been proposed in the past with a view toward applying mascara to the eyelashes, varnish to the nails, powder to the cheeks, or dye to the hair.
It is known from FR-A-2,607,372 to produce an applicator in the form of a mascara brush including bristles, each having at least one straight capillary groove at its surface running in a straight line along its entire length. The capillary grooves constitute sites which hold reserves of mascara, allowing swift and effective transfer of the mascara onto the eyelashes at the time of application with a view toward uniform application of the make-up.
In addition, it is known from FR-A-2,759,872 to produce a mascara applicator for eyelashes, comprising a handle of roughly flat profile bearing an application element having of a number of bristles embedded in a first end of the handle in an arrangement that is perpendicular to a plane passing through the handle. The bristles may have a section (or cross-section) in the shape of a cross, a semicircle, or an S. Thus, the bristles have, one or two straight grooves, respectively, at their surface.
Furthermore, FR-A-2,687,055 discloses a nail varnish applicator which has a tuft made of two types of bristles, which bristles may exhibit at least one longitudinal capillary groove.
Another source, WO 97/10374, describes a method of manufacturing twisted fibres of non-circular cross-section obtained by twisting monofilaments about their central axes. The cross-section of the monofilaments is not a cylinder of revolution. This document quotes fibres of oval or polygonal cross-section or monofilaments which have a core with at least one rib extending in a helix about the core of the filament. Such fibres are twisted after extrusion. This document describes the use of these fibres for various kinds of abrasive or cleaning brushes, or alternatively, for toothbrushes.
Although these conventional applicators are, on the whole, satisfactory, it has become desirable to have an application device which makes it possible to achieve a make-up effect which is both very heavy and very uniform, and which dispenses a greater capacity of product than the known applicators. The problem is that the above-mentioned applicators may have the drawback of losing a significant proportion of their load of product, particularly when the application element is subjected to a wringing-out operation prior to application. This drawback can be even more significant when the grooves or capillary grooves of the bristles are scraped along their entire length during this wringing-out operation.
Therefore, an object of the invention is to provide an applicator which, particularly after wringing-out, has a substantial reserve of product. Specifically, the invention is directed to controlled application of the product, regardless of the region of the application element that is brought into contact with the support that is to be treated. An applicator of this kind is suited, in particular, for the application of make-up to the eyelashes or eyebrows, the lips, the skin, or the nails, or to a hair or dermatological treatment.
Another object of the invention is to provide an applicator which remains simple and economical to manufacture and practical to use. Furthermore, when the product that is to be applied is relatively fluid, the object of the invention is to gain better control over the speed at which the product flows during application.
Another subject of the invention pertains to an applicator for applying mascara to eyelashes, which is capable of applying make-up very evenly to the eyelashes. More particularly, one of the subjects of the invention includes a mascara brush with bristles capable of being laden more heavily with mascara than a conventional mascara brush.
Indeed, the present inventor has observed that the intersection of the lashes with bristles which have a helical groove, with which a mascara brush is equipped, hugs the shape of all of the lashes of an eyelid. Unlike the brushes of the prior art, a brush such as this causes the entire surface of each eyelash to be coated fully and more uniformly. Thus, when the user applies the brush to her eyelashes, she loads the base of the lashes with mascara across the entire width of the eyelid. Thereafter, twisting the brush about its central axis, she gradually releases the mascara loaded into the groove or grooves of the bristles over the entire surface of each eyelash, combing the lashes out and separating all the eyelashes along their entire length. A brush such as this makes it possible to obtain a make-up effect which is simultaneously heavy, uniform, lengthening and curling.
Yet another object of the invention includes a brush for applying a varnish to the nails, and having controlled-flow properties.
It should be understood that the invention could still be practiced without performing one or more of the objects and/or advantages described above. Still other objects will become apparent from the detailed description which follows.
To achieve those and other advantages, and in accordance with the purposes of the invention, as broadly described herein, the invention includes an application device for applying a cosmetic product, including a stem and an application element on the stem. The application element includes a plurality of bristles configured to apply a cosmetic product. The plurality of bristles include at least one first bristle having a surface with at least one helical groove extending over at least a portion of its length.
Another aspect of the present invention provides an application device where the first bristle additionally includes a cross-section with at least one hollow portion. The hollow portion may be formed on the surface of the first bristle or inside the first bristle.
In yet another aspect of the invention, the plurality of bristles include at least one second bristle having a cross-section with at least one hollow portion. Again, the hollow portion may be formed on the surface of or inside the second bristle. The second bristle may optionally include a helical groove extending over at least a portion of its length.
According to another aspect of the invention, the plurality of bristles include a plurality of first bristles having a surface with at least one helical groove extending over at least a portion of a length of each of the first bristles. In a further aspect the plurality of bristles include a plurality of bristles each having a cross-section with at least one hollow portion. In another aspect, at least one of the bristles having a cross-section with at least one hollow portion also includes at least one helical groove extending over at least a portion of its length. Alternatively, the plurality of bristles having a cross-section with at least one hollow portion may not have a helical groove extending over at least a portion of its length.
In yet another aspect, the plurality of bristles include at least one bristle with at least one helical groove extending over at least a portion of its length and a plurality of bristles each having a cross-section with at least one hollow portion.
According to another aspect, the application element comprises at least one tuft including the bristles, the bristles being oriented roughly mutually parallel, one end of the tuft being fixed to a stem. When the application element is formed with a single tuft of bristles, it is possible to obtain an application device which is particularly well suited to the application of a nail varnish, such as a nail varnish brush. An application element such as this may also be shaped into a blusher-type brush, allowing a powder to be applied to the face, or into an eyeliner brush for making-up the eyebrows.
Some preferred embodiments of the invention include a handle on an end of the stem opposite to the application element. In place of, or in addition to, the handle, at least a portion of the stem could be configured to be grasped by a user during application of a product.
According to one particular arrangement of the invention, a free end of the application element maybe attached to a support. In this case, the application element is arranged in a plane of the support and oriented transversely with respect to a longitudinal axis of the application device. An arrangement such as this may preferably be adopted for an application device for applying mascara to the eyelashes.
According to another embodiment, the bristles are oriented approximately radially on the application element, with respect to a central core or an off-center core. In this case, the application device may be used as a mascara brush or as an applicator for applying hair dye to the hair.
Preferably, a core such as this is formed by twisting together two branches of metal wire in such away as to trap the bristles between the twisted-together branches of the core. In this case, the brush obtained is one of the xe2x80x9cbottle-brushxe2x80x9d type. Preferably, the core defines an axis coincident with the axis of the applicator.
The application device may have varying exterior shapes. Thus, the outer profile of the application device, formed by the ends of the bristles, can be tailored to suit, according to the nature of the product to be applied and the morphology of the support. This profile can be obtained, for example, by trimming using a trimmer. The application device may include a combination of bristles of a first length and bristles of a second length greater than the first. The application device may include bristles of any number of varying lengths.
Furthermore, all or some of the bristles of the application devices according to the invention may be of any type. For example, the bristles can have tapered, rounded, forked, or pinhead ends, or may have undergone any kind of treatments known to those skilled in the art. Further, these bristles may be corrugated in a plane or formed as a stretched-out spiral. The cross-section of the bristles may preferably be sized to lie inside a circle of a diameter ranging from about {fraction (6/100)}ths of a mm to about {fraction (30/100)}ths of a mm.
Depending on the nature of the application element and that of the product to be applied, the length of the bristles may range from approximately 2 mm to approximately 25 mm. In the case of a brush of the xe2x80x9cbottle-brushxe2x80x9d type, the length of a bristle is defined by the distance between its two free ends. In this case, the length of the bristles is, for example, of the order of about 7 mm to about 12 mm.
The bristles may be made, for example, of a material comprising at least one of polyamide, polyester, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinyl chloride, polytetrafluoroethylene, polyethyleneterephthalate or thermoplastic elastomer.
Preferably, the helical groove has a pitch ranging from about 1 mm to about 20 mm, and more preferably from about 1.5 mm to about 10 mm, or even more preferably from about 2 mm to about 9 mm. Preferably, the groove has a depth such that the ratio between the depth of the groove and the diameter of the circle inside which the cross-sections lie is from approximately {fraction (1/10)} to approximately {fraction (9/10)}. Purely by way of example, the depth of the groove may range from about {fraction (2/100)}ths of a mm to about {fraction (8/100)}ths of a mm.
Preferably, the shape of the cross-section of the bristles is chosen from cross-sections in the shape of: a cross; a trefoil; a quatrefoil; a hollow oval; a hollow cylinder; a hollow rectangle; a hollow polygon; a figure-8, a C, an S, an E, an F, an H, an I, an L, an N, a W, a V, a star, or a crescent.
A further aspect of the invention provides an application system including the application device and a reservoir configured to contain the product to be applied. In an application system such as this, in order to be able to meter out the product correctly and to spread it uniformly onto the application element, in some instances a wiper, such as a wringing-out member, may be provided preferably near the open end of the reservoir. A wiper such as this is intended to meter out the amount of product withdrawn by the application device and to spread it out evenly on the application element.
Preferably, a wiper such as this is made of an elastomeric material, possibly a foam, and has at least one passage through which the application element and, as appropriate, a portion of a stem, or wand, can pass. The passage through the wiper may include at least one open or contiguous wiping lip. When the application element is on a flat stem, this passage may be in the form of at least one slit extending across a substantial part of the cross-section of the wiper.
In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the reservoir contains a quantity of a cosmetic product, preferably an eye makeup product such as mascara or a nail treatment product such as nail varnish.
In yet another aspect of the invention, the application system includes a handle on an end of the stem opposite the application element. A portion of the handle may be configured to removably cover an opening in the reservoir.
Another aspect of the invention provides a method of applying a product to a surface region of the body, such as an eyelash, fingernail, toenail, or the like. The method includes providing the application device, placing a product on the application element of the device, and transferring the product from the application element to a surface region. Preferably, the product is an eye makeup product or a nail treatment product.
Apart from the provisions explained hereinabove, the invention includes other arrangements which will be dealt with more fully hereinafter with regard to some embodiments which are described with reference to the drawings appended hereto, but which are not in any way limiting. It is to be understood that both the foregoing description and the following description are exemplary, and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.